The United States House Foreign Affairs Committee has passed (43 yes; 1 no) an amendment calling on Turkey to return Christian properties to their rightful owners. That would be 2,200 Armenian sites (a number concluded from statistical research instructed by Turkey’s Interior Ministry to Archbishop Maghakia Ormanian from the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople during 1912-1913), as well as hundreds of Greek and Assyrians properties.

Kudos to the Armenian National Committee of America for initiating the “return of churches” campaign. While the U.S. government is very careful not to use the term “genocide,” genocide recognition can be achieved indirectly, such as addressing the cultural loss caused by the genocide. Turkey understands the last point very well; that probably explains the official Turkish anxiety over the issue.

Nonetheless, Turkey must preserve its diverse heritage – with or without acknowledging the Armenian genocide. In 1969 Turkey signed the International Treaty for the Preservation of Cultural Monuments. Moreover, Turkey has also signed the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples which underscores indigenous peoples’ “right to maintain, protect, and have access in privacy to their religious and cultural sites.”

Jack “Dr. Death” Kevorkian passed away yesterday. While most news organizations are mentioning his Armenian parents, few are reporting that the Kevorkians were survivors of the Armenian genocide.

The HBO movie “You Don’t Know Jack” alludes to the influence of the Armenian genocide over Kevorkian’s work. When, during his trial, defense compares Kevorkian’s work to genocide, he, portrayed by Al Pacino, becomes extremely angry. How dare they compare compassionate killing with intended destruction of an entire nation?

Kevorkian’s own art (see the photo above I took) reflects his connection to the Armenian genocide. An oil, displayed at the Armenian Library and Museum of America (ALMA) in Watertown, Massachusetts, depicts Nazi and Young Turkish hands holding the hair of a beheaded figure. The Nazi hand reads 1945, the end of the Holocaust, and the Turkish hand reads 1915 – the start of the Armenian Genocide.

While Kevorkian has said that his decision to assist terminally-ill patients has roots in his own’s mother’s suffering from cancer, the murder of the Armenian nation has probably influenced his obsession over death. Interestingly, genocide – the intended and often cruel destruction of a collectivity, in some ways, is the complete opposite of doctor-assisted suicide.

Foreign Policy Journal has published my latest on the destruction of Djulfa. Earlier this year, Ararat Magazine published my article on Djulfa discussing the new satellite evidence and UNESCO’s inaction.

After a year of skirmishes and angry rhetoric in the Nagorno-Karabakh territorial conflict, Armenia and Azerbaijan have released a hopeful joint statement, committing to “resolve all controversial questions in a peaceful manner.”

One can’t help but wonder whether the power of the white powder of Sochi, the Russian resort of the 2014 Winter Olympics, has engendered positivity that has lacked in previous meetings. According to media reports, Azerbaijani president Aliyev joined the host, Russian president Medvedev, in skiing while Armenian president enjoyed snowmobiling. Not that either of the South Caucasus presidents need more partying, but partaking in joint recreational activities is seemingly a good way forward.

UNESCO, the organization charged with protecting our global heritage, has finally responded to the December 2010 petition asking it to hold Azerbaijan responsible for deliberately destroying the magnificent medieval Djulfa (Old Jugha) cemetery by officially discontinuing addition of monuments from Azerbaijan to the World Heritage List.

While the UNESCO letter says protection of Armenian heritage is of “constant concern” and acknowledges having received prior inquiries, it beats the same ineffective drum of calling on Azerbaijan to let UNESCO investigate the site of the cemetery – which is tantamount to inaction since Azerbaijan has consistently denied access to the cemetery and will continue to do so. That’s exactly why the American Association for the Advancement of Science used satellite techonology to investigate the destruction.

It is disappointing to see UNESCO unwilling to condemn the destruction of Djulfa, let alone hold Azerbaijan accountable for it. Very disappointing.

The folks at UNESCO have notified me that an official reply is being drafted to the petition that calls on them to discontinue adding further monuments from Azerbaijan to the World Heritage List until Baku acknowledges and punished the destruction of the world’s largest medieval Armenian cemetery, Djulfa, which was reconfirmed by the American Association for the Advancement of Science satellite study last month.

A high-resolution satellite image of a medieval Armenian cemetery in Azerbaijan taken in September 2003 shows hundreds of khachkars, intricate 15th and 16th century burial monuments. In a satellite image from May 2009, however, the khachkars are missing, suggesting that they were either destroyed or removed.

…

“Geospatial images allow us to shed light on regions that are not accessible, providing a visualization tool for events or circumstances that are important to bring to the public’s attention but which, without some visual evidence, are less likely to attract attention and interest,” said Jessica Wyndham, senior project director of the AAAS Science and Human Rights Program.

In September of 2003 (upper data), the central area of the Djulfa graveyard appears to have sustained significant damage, but the areas to the northeast and southwest remain largely intact. By May of 2009 (lower data), however, the entire area has been graded flat, apparently by earthmoving equipment.

A close-up of the southwestern portion of the cemetery clearly shows the extent to which the area has been scoured. Upper data from 2003; lower data from 2009.

The northwestern area of the Djulfa cemetery in Azerbaijan has also been completely demolished. Upper data from 2003; lower data from 2009.

The AAAS team has also put together a video where Susan Wolfinbarger, senior program associate for the Geospatial Technologies and Human Rights Project, a part of the AAAS Science and Human Rights Program, explains their methodology and findings.

While Djulfa’s destruction was until now well-documented, the AAAS study conclusively, scientifically, and objectively confirms what Azerbaijan can no longer deny without ridiculing itself and what UNESCO – the organization charged with protecting our global heritage – can no longer keep silence on without discrediting its mission.

What UNESCO must do is to tell Azerbaijan that the former won’t add any new monuments from the latter to the World Heritage List until Azerbaijan’s authorities acknowledge the destruction at Djulfa and prosecute the perpetrators of this crime against world culture. That’s what the petition at http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/235/907/968/ demands and I hope that you will take one minute to add your signature to it.

I got word from a friend of mine that his colleague Alexis Hirschhorn, a Belgian consultant, has made a music video commemorating the destruction of Djulfa cemetery in Azerbaijan.

Based on the footage of my The New Tears Araxes film (2006), Hirschhorn says his video is meant “to inform my non-Armenians friends of this tragedy, and on the 1915 Armenian genocide which like the destruction of Djulfa is still denied by its perpetrators. I thought it could have an impact specially now that we are nearing the 5th anniversary of Djulfa’s destruction. Also I think it was interesting for my Armenians friends to see a non-Armenian perspective on this.”

Although written and performed in French, the video has English subtitle with Spanish subtitle to follow soon.